Mixed Messages
by Cacoethic
Summary: Gaara was (as he'd kindly reminded her) the fucking Kazekage: he was everywhere. It made sense that he would forget Ino, in retrospect, but there was no way she could forget him. / AU and somewhat OOC


"Always the bridesmaid never the bride, eh Ino?" Shikamaru was chuckling in what he likely thought was an endearing way. Choji snuck a quick glance at Ino's face (currently sporting a terse smile) before allowing himself to laugh as well.

"Should you be flirting so openly with me in front of your new wife, Shikamaru?" Ino shot back coyly through gritted teeth. Temari, two spots down from them at the open bar, let out a hearty laugh.

"You tell him Ino!" she called out, speaking far too loudly for the short distance between them. Shikamaru didn't even bother pretending to pout but simply shrugged his shoulders and went back to his drink. Ino chugged what was possibly her 6th or 7th drink of the night, she couldn't be sure, before heading to the bathroom to be drunk and sad by herself. Her plan was completely foiled when she quite literally bumped into a moody-looking Gaara. Seeing her, his face changed almost imperceptibly; seeing him gave Ino an idea.

"Hey there," she started to work her magic on him, taking his hand delicately and leading him back to the bar she'd just managed to escape. "Let me get you a drink! Surely you can afford to loosen up some for your sister's wedding after-party?" Gaara looked skeptical, his eyes glazing over in a resigned stare that would have given Shikamaru a run for his money. In the few short minutes she'd been gone, Ino's friends had already moved on. If she'd been less tipsy it would have been a very meaningful moment, a snapshot that represented the entirety of her adolescent and adult life. But drunk Ino was pleased she wouldn't have to talk to Shikamaru, who was getting on her last nerve with his "jokes".

"Do you prefer sweet drinks or something more strong? Or maybe a beer? They have everything here," Ino explained to the bored red-head accompanying her, gesturing to the wall full of sparkling bottles. He shrugged his shoulders, and she willed herself to not get pissed off by his nonchalance. He was very attractive- she'd definitely had her eye on him for a long while. But his attitude was annoying at best and infuriating at worst. Perhaps alcohol would help them get better acquainted? It had certainly helped guys get in her pants before, not that that was her aim here or anything.

"Two gin and gingers," she called to the bartender, who definitely should have cut her off. But he didn't. So they drank.

Waking up next to Temari's brother was a surprising, though not unwelcome, sight. He was shirtless and his forehead was glistening ever so slightly with a thin coating of sweat. As these things usually go, she immediately began planning her escape route. Although he was just Temari's brother to her, he was still the _kazekage_. Which meant something to somebody, certainly.

Sitting up slowly, it was readily apparent that she had not fully sobered up. Her limbs were heavy and she still had that warm peace swallowing her. Leaving the bed was the most unappealing option she had at present, but she had just enough self control to pursue it. That is, until she saw Gaara's sleeping face twist just a fraction of an inch. His brow was furrowed in sleep and he looked so uncomfortable and so delectable that she, admittedly, lost control.

"Let's go one more time. C'mon, it'll be fun," she found herself on top of him, rousing him quietly with a delicate whisper in his ear. His eyes snapped open and immediately his hands were shoving her off, away, anything to remove her from his person.

"What? We can't go one more time. There wasn't a first time," he explained in a whisper-yell, confused and gasping for breath at the surprise awakening.

"Are you saying you're a virgin?!" Ino cried a little too loudly, before his hands found their way to her mouth and muffled her voice. She wasn't drunk to the point of slurring anymore, mostly just pleasantly buzzed and speaking way too loudly for whatever ungodly hour it was. His eyes were wild and watery with sleep, but he was waking up now and she found his methods of silencing her a little too forceful for her taste.

"Yes! Well, no, that's not what I'm saying," he began to backtrack but the damage had been done. A smile crept over Ino's face.

"What better time to lose your v-card than now? Love is in the air, et cetera, et cetera. Come on, it'll be fun!" her shirt, which she'd only just realized she was wearing, felt heavy and in the way. Before she could get a chance to remove it, Gaara had sat up and physically moved away from her. He looked angry, furious even.

"As I'm _sure_ you knew when you followed me to my room and forced your way into my bed," he paused dramatically, allowing Ino to soak up the shame of her actions. "I am Kazekage. My people look to me for hope and stability. If I were to take up with every fame-hungry _whore_ who snuck their way into my bed, it would ruin me." His words dripped with venom, and Ino immediately straightened her spine and got up from the bed.

"Of course," she found herself searching for words, the best words to say, _any_ words to say. "I guess this _whore_ should just go home then, huh?" She'd been called a whore by a lot of guys (and some girls), most of whom she'd slept with beforehand. At least she could write them off as hypocrites; this situation was depressingly different.

"Please do," his voice was devoid of emotion. In the years Ino had gotten to know Temari and her siblings through Shikamaru, she had forgotten just how cold Temari's younger brother could be. It wasn't as though this was the first time they'd met: over the past year or two, they'd said hello at several parties and events that Temari had invited Shikamaru and his friends to. Gaara was (as he'd kindly reminded her) the fucking Kazekage: he was everywhere. It made sense that he would forget Ino, in retrospect, but there was no way she could forget him.

"Alright, fine," Ino spoke in a hushed voice, already planning her next move. "What time does the market open, do you know? The sun's coming up soon and soon the street outside should be bustling with people, huh…" she trailed off devilishly. Mentally she was dumping all evidence that she'd ever crushed on him straight into the trash. She would be damned if she let this self-righteous asshole with the name-calling skills of a teenage girl get a leg up on her. His eyes widened slightly before he could regain his composure.

"You wouldn't dare," he whispered: and he believed it, too. All Ino could do was crack a smile before humming a tune and exiting his room, slamming every door she could find behind her. She was already walking along the empty streets outside when she heard the guards being roused inside the palace she'd just escaped. If nothing else, she'd held power over the most powerful man in Suna for a few short minutes. It served him right.

Surprisingly, nothing came of her bout of bad behaviour. Ino sort of expected Gaara to tell Temari, who would tell Shikamaru, who would groan and half-chastise/half-mock her. But days went by and she returned to Konoha without a word of the incident spoken by or to her. It was almost a disappointment.

That quickly changed, however, when she received a summons to the Hokage's office while at work in the hospital a few weeks later. It was near the end of her shift, and though the notice did say to arrive "at your earliest convenience" she was waffling on when that would be. Having a shower and a long sleep would feel nice, but wasn't necessary to see Naruto. They'd known each other since they were kids, and she was dying to know what he wanted. It was 8 PM when she finally finished up her duties, forced herself to shower, and headed over to the Hokage's office.

"I'm surprised you're still working so late," Ino announced as she walked into the room. Naruto was sitting at his desk, balancing a pen on his face when she walked in. Rushing to right himself, he almost fell over in his chair before grabbing onto his desk and letting the pen fall to the floor.

"Uh, yes," he started, obviously flustered. "I was waiting for you. You sure took your time," he began defensively.

"It said to come at my earliest convenience!" Ino retaliated. "I had half a mind to go to bed and come by in the morning."

"It's a good thing you didn't," Naruto was now sitting upright in his chair, pen-free. "I was getting bored." All pretenses of professionalism gone, he gave Ino a cheeky grin. She didn't reciprocate.

"Alright, what's going on here? What's so important you bother me at work and wait in your office after-hours?" she asked him directly, and he seemed taken aback.

"Okay, okay," he began apologetically. "I have a mission for you. Sort of. Uh…" taking a look at Ino's face, he swallowed hard and continued. "You don't have to if you don't want to but, well, Gaara sort of… asked for you." Ino raised her eyebrows at this. She'd almost forgotten the humiliating night they nearly spent together. Naruto spared her the embarrassment of reliving it by continuing on: "We do a medical ninja exchange with Suna once a year, as you know," he was finally getting into a stride when Ino cut him off.

"No," she stated dryly. "I won't do it."

"But Gaara speci-" he tried to get a word in edgewise. She didn't let him.

"I don't care. In fact, that makes me care less. If that jerk wants to apologize to me, he can come _here_. I'm sure as hell not going there. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have two more days 'on' at the hospital so I'd really like to go get some sleep before my next shift." That was that. Naruto's mouth hung open as Ino escorted herself out.

It had taken Ino a long time to be able to stand up for herself like that. The radical notion of loving her body and herself was still new to her, but she was embracing it hardcore. Rather than feeding off of the affections of one-night stands, she was working to be less co-dependent on literally anyone who gave her a second glance. It began, she supposed, that night in Suna. But there's no way in hell Gaara would ever know. Not that she cared what he thought anyway. Sliding into bed that night, alone as she had been for the past few weeks, it didn't feel as lonely as it always had. Sometimes the best company, she was finding, was yourself.

At the end of her final shift (three days on, two days off), Ino was tired, sweaty and overwhelmed. Some days at the hospital go relatively smoothly, but others are much harder. Today was one such day, and she felt worn thin and deeply overwhelmed. It was going to be the kind of night where she cracked open her freezer for a pint of ice cream and watched some murder mysteries alone in her apartment. Ordinarily she might go out and seek a warm bed elsewhere, anything to avoid being alone. But it felt wrong now.

It would be inaccurate to say that being called a whore turned her life around. Being called a whore the dozenth time felt like nothing by now. It was more like after that night, she really looked at herself. Took a good hard look in the mirror and felt that she wasn't who she wanted to be. She had a stable job, a nice apartment in a good area, and lots of friends that she sometimes liked. But it felt like she was giving too much of herself away to people; it felt like very little of Ino was left, now. At the age of twenty-nine she felt all at once young and inexperienced while also too old and used up. So her routine had changed a bit.

Returning home and finding the door of her apartment unlocked was unsettling, if anything. She always remembered to lock up. But she had been distracted lately, so she forgave herself and headed inside. Once the door was shut, she flipped the lights on and was greeted by a bizarre sight. Gaara, with his shock of red hair and a surprisingly dressed-down outfit, was seated awkwardly on her couch. A jolt of electricity ran through her and she gasped before she could stop herself. He immediately jumped up and put a finger to his lips. Yet again he was begging her to be quiet, to spare him the embarrassment of being found in a mere civilian's house. She rolled her eyes.

"Get out," she tried to be curt. She felt the lump swelling up in her throat before she fully realized what exactly was going on. Clearly her body hadn't got the memo from her brain about throwing about her feelings for him. Annoying. Now she really wanted him gone. He stared at her blankly, standing several feet away and not making any move to bridge the gap. "Go, leave, goodbye, see you, bye?" Ino continued on, feeling flustered and wishing she'd showered before leaving work.

"I'm sorry," Gaara finally spoke. He truly looked the part: eyes turned downward, hands fidgeting in his lap. "I feel awful… I didn't really realize who you were," he began, clearly expecting Ino to interrupt him. Instead they both stood there silently, a pregnant pause filling the air between them. "I want to make it up to you."

"Hold on just a minute," Ino's voice was shaking now. "I understand you not remembering me, even though we've met several times. I understand you not noticing I was your brother-in-law's best friend when we woke up together. But I don't understand how you think your behaviour is excusable because _you didn't know who I was_?"

"What do you mean?" Gaara was dumbfounded. Clearly he'd expected resistance when he arrived, but she was fighting him over all the wrong parts.

"Don't ever call someone who wants to sleep with you a whore again," Ino commanded him. He nodded feebly in response, still unsure how he should be acting. "Don't call anyone that, actually. I don't care if you think I'm a slut or a whore for wanting to have sex with you," he winced at her wording. She pressed on angrily. "But don't you dare look down on me for it."

"OK," Gaara agreed immediately to her request. Both parties stared each other down, unsure how to go forward. He was obviously uncomfortable with the silence, which prompted him to speak. "I… lied. I knew who you were." It was Ino's turn to look bewildered now.

"Care to explain why you lied?" she asked when he didn't offer an explanation up in a timely manner.

"Nice place you've got here," he commented lightly in a pathetic attempt to change the subject.

"I'm sure it's nothing compared to the place you've got back in Suna," she was just being argumentative now and she knew it. "Wait, I know that for a fact. Since I was there and all."

"Ah-" Gaara began to respond, but closed his mouth. He sat back down on the couch wordlessly.

"Look, I…" Ino had to apologize. She had to stop antagonizing the Kazekage, and let him be on his merry way. Mostly she needed him out of her apartment because he was forcing her to confront very complicated feelings when she'd rather be confronting that pint of ice cream in her freezer. "I need you to leave." Gaara was perplexed.

"Well, if that's what you want," he gave in so easily. He was on his feet in a second's time, moving towards her (and the door) at record speed. Before she realized what she was doing, Ino found herself grabbing on to the sleeve of his shirt. He froze immediately and looked down at her hand, then up to her face. Slowly, delicately, he moved that same hand up to touch her cheek. She released his hand and positioned herself against the wall. He was staring so intensely at her that Ino could feel the heat rising in her cheeks. Gaara lowered his head towards her and she met him halfway: their lips came together immediately. His mouth bumped hers with just a little too much force and she found herself pushed away. A moments silence followed, broken by Ino's laughter and a forced chuckle from Gaara. He leaned down gingerly now and they shared a slow kiss. She was the one to break it, reluctantly.

"Wait just a minute," she grabbed his hand and led him to the couch, gesturing for him to sit while she did so herself. "Can you explain to me why you kicked me out of your bedroom, went radio silent on me, and are now in my apartment kissing me?" It was Gaara's turn to flush now.

"The truth is," he struggled to find the right words to say. "I really like you. I've liked you for a while now: you're vivacious, clever, strong-willed and _very_ attractive," he was talking quickly now. This was quite possibly the longest conversation he'd ever had, given his track record. Ino was dumbfounded, but made no attempt to cut him off. "I was happy when you talked to me at the after-party. When we got to my room, though… I couldn't do it. You were so drunk, and I was too," Ino nodded, remembering ever so slightly how she'd egged him on to keep drinking when he clearly didn't have much drinking experience.

"So why did you call me whore? Why did you act like you didn't know who I was?"

"I was embarrassed," Gaara explained tentatively. "I was ashamed. I was angry. You were treating me like you didn't really know me the night before, and I felt like… if I wasn't there, you might've been doing those same things with someone else. So I snapped at you."

"That's… stupid," Ino thought aloud. "There's no reason for you to be mad about me flirting with other people when you never even told me your feelings."

"I know," Gaara sighed, defeated. "I know. I'm sorry. I'm the worst," he had his head in his hands now. Ino instinctively moved a hand to rub his back, stopped herself, but then pushed forward. He wasn't very tall, and sitting next to her on the couch he seemed so small and fragile. She rubbed his back slowly, as so many friends had done for her before when she felt like nothing was right.

"I think that I feel the same way," Ino finally spoke. "But I'm not sure. I want to be sure," she clarified sternly. Tempting as it was to dive headfirst into a relationship, Ino knew she couldn't be trusted to think rationally at present. Gaara looked up and into her eyes for several moments before nodding. She smiled at him before he looked away, and caught his face with her hands. "But I don't mind if we figure it out together," she explained, pulling him towards her and guiding his lips to meet hers.

"Why don't you start," he spoke softly before their lips could meet, "by accepting the medical exchange?"

I wrote this six months ago but only published it now. Ah. I hope you enjoyed.


End file.
